Bubble package



March 21, 1961 D. D. BROWN BUBBLE PACKAGE Filed March 27, 1959 IN VEN TOR.

0Mws 0. flea w/v States Unite BUBBLE PACKAGE DennisD. Brown, Valley Stream, N.Y., assignor to Kem Manufacturing Company, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 802,414 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-4534) may readily be viewed and yet not be directly handled,

containers of the type in question in many instances are devised so that the same may readily be opened and closed without damage thereto. 7

The present invention relates to improvements in this type of container.

It is amongst the primary objects of the present invention to provide an improved container of the above class which lends itself perfectly to the packaging of small parts.

It is another important object of the present invention to provide a container of the above class which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and may be made from readily available materials.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a container of the above class which may be conveniently stored in large quantities by reason of the basic design thereof.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a container of the above class having means contained therein for readily identifying the contents of said container.

It is yet another important object of the present invention to provide a container of the above class wherein a readily removable closure member therefor will remain securely in place and be locked in position to some extent.

Briefly stated, the display container of the present invention comprises a transparent housing open at the normally underportion thereof, said housing having a flange extending outwardly of said opening defining a track, a closure member substantially the size and shape of the flanged underpoution of said housing, said closure having a tab pivotally aifixed thereto at one end thereof, said closure being adapted to be slidably mounted on said track with one face of said tab abutting an end wall of said transparent housing when said container is fully assembled.

A fuller understanding of the invention and the manner in which its objectives and advantages may be realized will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the accom: panying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display container in accordance with the present invention; I

Fig; 2 is an exploded view showing the component parts of the container of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of the container of Fig. 1 showing the partial opening of the closure;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View of the container 2 ,975,889 Patented Mar. 21, 1961 of Fig. 1 showing the container completely closed; and

Fig. 5 is an endview of the container of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, a container in accordance with the present invention, designated generally by numeral 10, consists of a rectangularly shaped housing 12 and a closure member 14. c

As is evident in the drawing, housing 12 is entirely open at the base thereof and is provided with a flange 16 extending outwardly of the open end of said housing. In this embodiment of the invention, said flange is U- shaped to form a track for purposes hereinafter appearing. The wall of housing 12 is tapered outwardly in the direction of flange 16.

Closure member 14, in this embodiment of the invention, consists of a rectangularly shaped cardboard sheet of substantially the same size as the flanged underside of housing 12. The thickness of member 14 is such that it may be inserted within channel 18 formed by U-shaped flange 16.

Closure *14 is provided with an integral tab 20 whose width corresponds with the width of the chamber formed by housing 12. Tab 20 is adapted to be pivoted up- Wardly of closure 14 and a weakening line, not shown in the drawing, may be provided to facilitatethis action. As may be seen in the drawing, the upper corners'of tab 20 have been cut away, for reasons hereinafter appearing.

Housing 12 is of a transparent plastic composition and may be readily formed by molding. The housing may be molded with the U-shaped flange 16 as an integral part thereof. Closure 14 is preferably of a cardboard composition and may be produced in quantity by stamping. It is therefore apparent that a display container in accordance with the present invention may be inexpensively manufactured from readily available materials.

In practice, container 10 is assembled in maintaining tab 20 in unfolded position and inserting closure 14 in the track formed by U-shaped flange 16. Once the closure is partially inserted within said track, tab 20 is folded upwardly by manual manipulation at which time the closure may be fully inserted Within the track.

When closure 14 is fully inserted within track 16, tab 20 has been pivoted nearly degrees from its original unfolded position to abut an end wall of housing 12. By reason thereof, the further forward motion of closure 14- is prevented and the same cannot be completely pushed through the track.

It is to be noted that the face of tab 20 which abuts an end wall of housing 12 serves nicely to provide for the positioning of indicia thereon, which indicia will be readily visible, will remain within the container and will not be soiled by handling or otherwise.

By virtue of the action of the substantially rectangu- '12, closure 14 may not he accidentally withdrawn from the housing because of being wedgedtherein. However, tab 20 may be readily dislodged when his desired to open the container.

Additionally, byreason of the tapered construction of housing 12 and'the flattened construction of closure 14, it is possible tostore large quantities of the unassembled parts in a minimum of space by stacking. Housings maybe stacked in nested relationship. Furthermore,.assembled and filled containers can be readily stacked on shelves with the above noted indicia readily visible. v a

It may be seen by virtue of the present invention, an improved display container of the indicated class has been provided which lends itself perfectly to the packaging of small parts, indicated by 22, preferably auto? motive partssuchas ignition contact sets and the like.

Although the invention has been described in detail" track, a closure membersubstantially the sizeand shape of the grooved portion of said housing positioned in said track and closing the housing, said closure having a tab pivotally aflixed thereto'at one end thereof positioned entirely within the housing and abutting the end wall and provided with a width and height approximately that of the housing.

2. A display containercomprising a transparent housing having an end wall, and open at the normally underportion thereof, the side walls of said housing tapering outwardly in the direction of said opening, said housing having a grooved portion along the lateral walls adjacent the opening defining a track, a closure member substantially the size and shape of the grooved portion of said housing positioned in said track and closing the housing, said closure having a tab, pivotally afiixed thercto at one end thereof positioned entirely within the housing and wedged against the tapered side walls to secure the position of the closure member with respect to the housing.

3. A display container comprising a transparent housing having an end Wall and open at the normally underportion thereof, said housing having a grooved portion along the lateral--walls adjacent the opening defining a track, a closure member substantially the size and shape ofthe grooved portion of saidhousing, positioned in said track and closing the housing, said closurehaving a tab pivotally aifixed thereto at one end thereof, positioned entirely within the housing andv abutting the end wall, said closure further provided with a pair of slots between the edges of the-closure that'fit in the grooves, to form the tab. i

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Ang. 8, 1951 

